CBC News gets exclusive access aboard a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ship to examine the colossal twisted wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore harbour.

Baltimore

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore harbor has left behind a colossal twisted wreckage, drawing attention to the catastrophic event. CBC News was granted exclusive access aboard a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ship to closely examine the aftermath. The focus of this inspection was on understanding the scale and implications of the bridge collapse, providing insights into the extent of the disaster.



Close-up of the catastrophic Baltimore bridge collapse

The rain and wind eased just enough, making it safe to venture out. On board a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat bound for the Baltimore Harbor cleanup. It's a short ride, maybe 15 minutes or so, before we're close enough for the wreckage to come into focus. Through the mist and fog, it is so eerie looking. But as we slowly move toward it, the scope and scale of this catastrophe becomes clear. We're about 30 meters from the actual wreckage site, and you can see there's still so much twisted debris that's resting upon the Dolly cargo ship. Right beside it, we have a close-up look at the ongoing cleanup efforts. Those heavy lift cranes that are moving the pieces of debris onto barges and away from the site. From this vantage point, it looks like a pile of metal spaghetti. And remember, this is just one area, one part of the cleanup, after the bridge collapsed a little over a week ago, killing six construction workers. As we sail around the massive site, there are little things that stand out. See that, poking out of the water? That was a traffic light that used to be on the bridge. This piece of metal on a barge, it may seem small, but it weighs 300 tons and is about to be hauled away. It looks like metal toothpicks when you compare it to what's left to conquer. And that is when you really realize this cleanup is going to be a while. One encouraging sign is the temporary channel that's opened. Some smaller ships can get in and out of the harbour, but that's about it for now. We make a final pass before heading back to shore, where we find the experts leading this recovery effort to be just as astonished as we are. I've been doing the Coast Guard missions for almost 28 years. This is the first time I've ever seen anything of this enormity that has closed a port down for this amount of time. And realistically, there's no timeline, no best guess to be made as to when this will all be hauled away and when life here can get back to normal. Katie Simpson, CBC News, Baltimore.

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